Tuesday, August 30, 2005

I feel like my head is going to implode. I have had a migraine for three days now. I think it started when I decided that I have found a townhome I like and that I want to purchase. That means pinching pennies, cashing in side funds, yada yada yada and coming up with a chunk of change to cover earnest money to let the seller know I'm serious, an inspection to make sure I'm not getting screwed, AND an application fee for the actual mortgage from the bank. All on top of hoping no one else has decided this is "the one" and does all of this before me! Long story short, it is a three story duplex in a four unit association. It was built in 1938 and comes with a lot of character. Hardwood floors, original crown molding, updated kitchen and bathroom with tile. New applicances. Main floor living area, 2nd floor master, bath and guestroom. Third floor half bath and two rooms that I would turn into a office as it is basically a finished attic. Like I said, great character. The boyfriend came with last night to inspect the nuts and bolts of it. He seems to have deemed it acceptable except the "character" doesn't appeal to him. Tough, I liked it. And for me, that is important, I have to like the place I'm going to commit to buying.Now, mom is still sick. She has been out of the hospital since Saturday. For an update, she developed a methicillin resistant staph aureus pneumonia. for the non-medical, that means a bad ass pneumonia immune to the most commonly used antibiotics. Thus, she is now on IV antibiotics through a PICC line at home. The bonus, the are not the gentlest drugs on your kidneys and her kidneys don't work that great thanks to tumor in her abdomen that keeps clasping the stents they have placed. She saw her oncologist today, plan is to attempt to continue with chemotherapy, her internal medicine doctor checked her labs, he is increasing the number of days on the antibiotic. She is tired, worn out, and confused on what she should do. Mentioned just not wanting to live like this. Not sure the translation on that but....you get the picture.In two days, my much anticipated new boss starts. I can't wait but it means new hours, uncertainity, stepping outside of my box. Right now, i would like to just stay in my box, turn off the lights, curl up with a box of chocolate and a blanket and hum the theme to the Smurfs to block out the real world.Now, there is every cliche' in the book. It all happens for a reason, what is meant to be will be, it all works out in the end. All that said, it still is stressful. Cried my way through dinner at Panera with the boyfriend last night, was bitchy as hell and probably bit his head off when I shouldn't have (he's just trying to help) and I have had a massive headache since Sunday that seems to be resisting every 6 hour tylenol, two doses of migraine medicine, and lots of water and caffiene. I'm going to attempt to pack my head in ice with another round of meds at bedtime and see what happens.In the meantime, I'm destressing in the best way I know how. Cooking two different types of lasagna and brownies in preparation for 10 people coming to my house for my friend Dan's going away party. he said tomorrow night would work so I made it to wally world last night, got the necessaries, and tonight I have prepped. Lasagna's are layered and chilled. Soon the brownies will be baking. Tomorrow when I get home from my Sports Medicine appt to have molds made of my feet for orthodics I will only have to stick the pans in the oven, turn it on, mix the salad, heat the bread and corn, and be done :) Food, wine and friends. that should help.

Sunday, August 28, 2005

I have a serious case of the blahs. With mom being basically put on pallative care, trying to buy a house, and starting with a new surgeon this week, my brain has turned to barely functional. So yesterday afternoon before leaving work I confirmed a breakfast with a good girlfriend and arranged to follow it with a deep tissue massage.

I'm home now from all of that, I have taken a little nap and am contemplating cleaning my house. instead, i'm going to make a list of my favorite things. I haven't done that since starting my blog so I thought I would give it a try. i was trying very hard during my massage to think of them in my head. So, without further ado, here is a list of my 100 favorite things, in no particular order.

Big loud thunderstorms with pouring rain

Flannel sheets and down comforters

My mom's molassess cookies

" " potato salad

" " homemade dinner rolls

Montana sunsets after a big thunderstorm

The sound of Avlanche Gorge, in Glacier National Park

The smell of a thick, green forest in the morning dew

Cheesesticks and movie nights with my best friend Heather

A good microbrewed beer...particularly a Miner's Gold from the Lewis and Clark Brewery or Beltian White from Harvest Moon

Sleeping in on Saturday mornings

A surprise letter in the mailbox from a friend

Grandma's beef barley stew

the smell of a warm apple pie but the taste of a cold piece

Plain old vanilla ice cream

A night on the living room floor lit by candles and the fireplace

Snowflakes

My friend Laura's spaghetti sauce

Hanging out with my uncle's grandson, Toby, who is 11 now

Hiking in the Rockie Mountains

Soft wool sweaters

Silk camisoles

My sherling wool Land's End slippers

A big fluffy robe

Laughing with friends around a home cooked meal

Crunching in thick trails of fall leaves

The excitement of a high school football game on a cold winter night

Denver Broncos Football!

That feeling after a really good workout when initially you just didn't feel like doing it

Curling up on my boyfriend's shoulder and falling to sleep

Watching babies sleep

Long naps

Scary Movie: Silence of the Lambs

Chic Flick: Beaches and Under the Tuscan Sun

Girl Power movie: GI Jane

Classic: the original One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest

Favorite book: The Alienist by Caleb Carr

Favorite author: Patricia Cornwell

TV Show: CSI (the original)

Peaches and heavy cream

Listening to my cats purr

taking pictures

A good scary movie

The smell of a rose garden

Yellow roses and white tulips

the color orange

lying in the sun

shoveling snow

Sipping hot tea and watching the snow fall

Thanksgiving

Fall colors

The feeling of freshly harvested wheat running through your fingers

Hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps, wrapped up in a blanket

Rain on a tent

The smell of fresh cut alfalfa

Walks on the beach at dusk

Watching movies with a big blanket and pillows all over the floor on a stormy day

Leather bound journals and planners

Big heavy pens and pencils

Giving gifts

Reading

The brisk feeling of a early fall morning on your face

Dark Chocolate

Strawberries and champagne

A warm cozy house

Dress pants from The Limited

Hidden Lake outside of Helena, MT

Long dinners with candlelight and music with a loved one

Any Harry Connick, Jr CD (yes, I have them all...thanks to Os)

Alison Kraus and Union Station

My boys...reggie and romeo

my first dog...Smutter

Making snow forts

The smell of a freshly cleaned house

Thick cotton socks

A good brandy sour

A night out on the dance floor until closing time

Bluegrass music

A good back massage...either giving on OR getting one

Getting a pedicure

My black hills gold ring that has my great grandmother's wedding band diamonds in it

The cross my grandfather gave grandma when he left for world war II

Summer's at gifted camp when I was growing up

That feeling on a plane ride you get as you land at "home"

Smore's...without the chocolate

Flannel pajama pants

Kissing

...and being kissed, on the neck

Hugs

Holding hands

Getting a thank you for something unexpected

Baby giggles

Pear candles

Drafting floor plans on a drafting board for fun...always to big or elaborate to really build

Suturing (I know, morbid, but I really enjoy it...it appeals to the perfectionist in me)

Making jewelry

the taste of water from a glacier cold mountain stream

My old reading tree in my back yard when I was a kid...it had the perfect nook to sit in

Thursday, August 25, 2005

This is what remains from this past weekend's boating trip. A one centimeter strip right at my hair line that is peeling. Isn't that just disgusting! I'm sure all my patients thought I had horrible dandruff today. Itches like crazy and if I try to goober if with lotion it just makes my hair all nasty. Oh joy!On a side note, the house search is down to two. By tuesday next week i should be putting an offer on one of the two. I'll keep everyone updated.

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Here's the lyrics to Hicktown...again, set more in the south but could very well have been my hometown of Isabel, SD to a tee.

You like the way that sounds?

Little Jimmy Jackson is jackin' up his BroncoHe's gonna lay a little rubber later on at the truck pullAll the girls are getting pretty sprayin' on the White RainYeah they're gonna get a rowdy tonight down at the football game

Yeah

Chorus:We let it rip when we got the moneyLet it roll if we got the gasIt gets wild yeah but that's the way we get downIn a Hicktown

Well you can see the neighbors butt crack nailing on his shinglesAnd his woman's smokin' Pall Malls watchin' Laura InglesAnd Granny's getting lit she's headin' out to bingoYeah my buddies and me are goin' muddin' down on Blue Hole RoadYou know You know

Chorus:We let it rip when we got the moneyLet it roll if we got the gasIt gets wild yeah but that's the way we get downIn a Hicktown

We hear folks in the city party in Martini BarsAnd they like to show off in their fancy foreign carsOut here in the boondocks we buy beer at AmocoAnd crank our Kraco speakers with that country radio

Chorus

We let it rip when we got the moneyLet it roll if we got the gasIt gets wild yeah but that?s the way we get downOh Oh We let it rip when we got the moneyLet it roll if we got the gasIts buck wild yeah but that?s the way we get downIn a HicktownIn a HicktownIt's the way we get downIn a Hicktown

Yeah in a HicktownOh we aint finished yetWe got yer country boys and yer redneck girlsIt's the party heard round the worldRight here in HicktownYeah In HicktownThe whole town's gettin' down

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Last month when I posted about the red neck white trash I encountered at the Hayfield, MN street dance, my sister gave me a hard time for "making fun" of the place I grew up. As I mentioend, I was not intending to offend anyone. So, below you will find the words to a country song that is set in the south but the emotion it conveys is the same for where I have spent the majority of my life...rural, western america. There is another song called "Hick town" that is also quite appropriate. When I find the lyrics for it, I'll post those too. The below song is set to a driving bluegrass beat with a sweet round at the end with the last verse. Get in your blood music!

"BOONDOCKS" by: Little Big Town

I feel no shameI'm proud of where I came fromI was born and raised in the boondocksOne thing I know No matter where I goI keep my heart and soul in the boondocks

And I can feelThat muddy water running through my veinsAnd I can hear that lullaby of a midnight trainIt sings to me and it sounds familiar

I feel no shame I'm proud of where I came from I was born and raised in the boondocks One thing I know No matter where I go I keep my heart and soul in the boondocks

And I can tasteThat honeysuckle and it's still so sweetWhen it grows wildOn the banks down at old camp creekYeah, and it calls to me like a warm wind blowing

I feel no shame I'm proud of where I came from I was born and raised in the boondocks One thing I know No matter where I go I keep my heart and soul in the boondocks It's where I learned about livingIt's where I learned about loveIt's where I learned about working hardAnd having a little was just enoughIt's where I learned about JesusAnd knowing where I standYou can take it or leave it, this is meThis is who I amGive me a tin roofA front porch and a gravel roadAnd that's home to meIt feels like home to me

I feel no shame I'm proud of where I came from I was born and raised in the boondocks One thing I know No matter where I go I keep my heart and soul in the boondocks I keep my heart and soul in the boondocks

You get a line, I'll get a poleWe'll go fishing in the crawfish holeFive-card poker on a Saturday nightChurch on Sunday morning

2x}You get a line, I'll get a poleWe'll go fishing in the crawfish hole(Down in the boondocks)Five-card poker on a Saturday nightChurch on Sunday morningSay a little prayer for me

Sunday, August 21, 2005

There I did it...I can still spell Mississippi! Yesterday a group of us spent the day boating on the Mississippi River. We couldn't have asked for a better day. Plenty of sunshine, little wind, lots of water. Here are a few pictures. The best part of the day was all the video, still working on uploading, downloading, and transferring all that amongst the group.

Tim borrowed his Dad's boat and Dave hooked it up to the truck and off we went. Tim was official driver. We dropped in around Wabasha, which is on the MN side of the river after the navigator (Dave) took us briefly into WI. As you can see, once we were in we had a great time.

Gretchen joined us, wrist splint and all. the doctor said no swimming or soaking. She kept it dry and even managed to play volleyball. We found a beach with a group of guys with a net and a "sorta" ball. Figured since it was our volleyball team that went we better made a good showing.

Brian and I, as we were heading out of the docking area, trying to make sure we had significant sunscreen coverage. Today, i have a little rim around my forehead, a triangle behind my arm, and a small stripe on my lowback. Not bad!

This is the crew stopping in the cove for lunch. Left to right, me, Gretchen, Dave, and Brian. Tim was up on the sand dune taking pictures. Today, the guys are moving a bit slow from their skiing/tubing adventures, but all are alive. I'm going to try to figure out how to link the video to you all later.

Thursday, August 18, 2005

well, since posting my last entry things have calmed down somewhat. I have gone house hunting twice this week and tonight found one that I really liked, it is whispering in my ear right now but the location isn't the greatest. But I'm making progress.

Two loads of jeans/pants are washed and tagged for the garage sale. A pile of hanging shirts and dresses are also tagged and ready for the garage sale. have left a message at my friend's house to set up a drop-off time for tomorrow.

We have a final count on our lake pepin trip, I just need to send out a grocery list.

So, in general, my head isn't spinning nearly as fast as it was on Tuesday but with everything going on I'm bowing out of Half Nekkid Thursday and hopefully will simply be able to find time to look at all of those that have posted. I sort of participated, I posted Osbasso's pic for him :)

Hope you guys all have a great weekend. We head to the lake on Saturday for the day. That should help me relax and get back into my routine. I'll be more interesting then :)

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Made the return trip in 8.5 hours of driving time for a total of 592 miles one way.

Top gas price paid was $2.70 a gallon in Chamberlain, SD.

Number of killed birds for trip, 3 (and yes, I ducked when each of them hit the windshield).

Time spent running the water in my house once I got home, 2.5 hours as a water main broke while I was gone and left rust colored stuff in all the pipes.

Number of loads of laundry done since getting home, only one just now put in the dryer due to previously mentioned water issue.

At least I also have a load of garage sale clothes started. Speaking of which, I have to go through my "wardrobe", clean, fold and tag a bunch of clothes for Saturday garage sale.

Mom had her first chem two days before I got there, went three days without eating afterwards due to being sick. Man, that was hard. She yelled at me for trying to vacuum for her on Saturday though so I know she was feeling better. Even made her world famous potato salad for us on Sunday. God love that woman. And as of today, blood tests show the poison they are pumping through her in HALF doses hasn't killed her kidneys yet so they can do it again in 2 weeks.

This week I have to meet twice with my realtor, I'm trying to find a house and it's crazy. I am meeting a new nurse here at the clinic that graduated from carroll college. Need to plan for weekend boating trip (spent 1.5 hours on the phone with Tim to discuss the trip).

Need to add Dan's website to my blog list as he is leaving us in 2 weeks to set out on a world tour for at least a year with a backpack, a camera and a laptop! See Moose Kin...need to figure out fuckin' code to make link appear in blog text! Os...what you sent didn't work!

Need to see the boyfriend (had dinner and played mini-golf last night) but we are both up to our eyebrows in work.

Speaking of work, Dr T is on a micromanaging warpath and yesterday redid my entire september calendar and didn't bother telling me about it. Scheduling nightmare! I have to endure a meeting on Friday morning with him with the other PA and NP on the service. NOT looking forward to it. God, give me strength.

Need to sleep. Sleep? Anyone know why we really need to sleep?

So, if I haven't stopped by your blog this week, I'm sorry. If I don't stop by this week, I'm sorry. I'm going to be getting a lot of shit done while attempting to avoid being shit on (left the farm cats alone after Saturday's little adventure thank you!). If I don't get a half nekkid picture up, I'm sorry. I'll try! That's all I can say for this week. Hopefully I'll visit you all before next but if not, happy mid-August!

Saturday, August 13, 2005

My kitties are going to think i have permanently abandoned them. After today's little adventure, I definitely miss my kitties. I'm currently hanging out on the farm that I grew up on. As most of you know, my mom hasn't been doing the best and i had the trip planned anway, so I'm here. Got in on Thursday after driving 600 miles. There is a country song that talks about driving home, going 2000 miles with one left turn. i go 500 miles make a right turn and go another 100. Interstate 90 across SD is NOT exciting. not even with all the biker's headed to the final weekend of the world famous Sturgis Bike Rally. Anway...I'm digressing.Wednesday night and thursday morning the kitties were hovering over the suitcase, understanding that mommy was leaving again. I had only been home for about a week since the little house sitting stent (which I finally got paid for!!). They followed me to the door with each load I took out. Sad. I gave them big hugs and kisses and left. Upon arrival at mom and dad's, I was greeted by the farm kitties. They came mewing at my feet, waiting for food. My sister has a small handful that she has tamed and they hover around the house. Two older one's and one from last spring's litter. The little one is very friendly. The mom, not so much. The third one, depends on her mood. All three are horribly skinny. You can feel all their bones but you should see them eat! Mice, baby rabbits, people food. You name it, they eat tons but you could never tell.Today, my aunt Brenda came out for lunch. I decided to greet her on the porch. It was around lunch time so the cats were hovering, hoping for the leftovers to be brought out. The mommy was wrapping herself around my ankles so i decided to pick her up. I was playing with her, scratching her head, brenda was coming up the steps. Didn't think anything of it. Looked down and I had "something" on my foot. I had just finished sloppy joes for lunch and thought that is what was on my foot but as I let the cat down to investigate I realized the "something" was all the way down my side and my arm as well.Damn cat, shit on me! That's right. She pooped all over me. Little fucker! I stood their sceaming, my aunt laughing and no one coming to rescue me. I teetered into the house doing everything I could do keep my lunch down, screaming at my sister to get me clean clothes and trying to get to the shower without spreading the "stuff" all over what was still clean. EWWWW! I gagged for the first 10 minutes in the shower while I scrubbed and scrubbed trying to inhale the sweet scent of my bath gel! Did I mention the cat SHIT on me? Ewww~ man, do I miss the farm life. As I sit and type this, I'm all clean and I'm watching a gaggle of wild turkeys and their babies wander across the yard. Supper anyone?

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

I'm freshly out of the shower, post-volleyball. The little sparklies on the left and right are from my Victoria's secret silk tank with rhinestone "V"'s. I have matching bottoms that are super comfy too. The moose necklace doesn't usually come off unless I'm dressed up and need to wear something "classier". Otherwise, it's always there.

I'm heading to SD to see my mom tomorrow morning so I'm posting a bit early. I'll be there till Monday. Have these weird feelings about going home. Feel a bit anxious, like I don't know if this will be the last time I see here or not. Just don't know "how bad" things really are.

Anyway, so I'm up for HNT, still haven't made it through all of last weeks :( Have a great weekend!

Sunday, August 07, 2005

Hubba hubba. Last night the girls and I went to the Freeborn County Fair in Southeaster, MN to check out Sawyer Brown for a whooping $8. Mark Miller, the lead singer, along with the rest of the band, have aged amazing well. The band started on Star Search in 1983 and 22 years later they are still going strong. Mark danced and jumped his way through the entire show. So here are a few shots from the night including the girls.

Friday, August 05, 2005

Just a little note...has anyone else seen the new Nickel Creek video for their song "when in rome"? If you check out my previous posts about bluegrass music and how it makes me feel you know that I just melt with good bluegrass music. Their new video is sexy as hell. Pouring rain, lying in the puddle, oh my. Is it hot in here?

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

So this housesitting job and my mom being sick this past week have sucked the life from me so I'm using an old picture this week and going to bed early. Her is my headshot from Ben's wedding way back in May. I took the time off work to have my hair done for me and pamper myself...I think it turned out ok. A little red-eye, Dave's ear, but overall not a bad recent picture of me. Happy HNT!

About Me

I'm an adopted Montana native currently working as a physician assistant for the Department of Defense in Alaska. It's not Montana but it is better than SE Minnesota. My cats Reggie, Romeo, and Montana as well as Ruby, my chocolate lab, keep me entertained. I'm on a whole new adventure!